New Music Mondays | 03.12.18

Spring Break might be dead and gone but New Music Monday’s will never leave you #NMM

‘Wide Awake‘ – Parquet Courts

“In a post-Human Performance world, Parquet Courts have established themselves as a definitive punk act in the indiesphere, if not bonafide big wigs in general. After seeing success with more off-brand songs like ‘Berlin Got Blurry’ and ‘Already Dead’, it’s only natural that the gang would venture further down the rabbit hole. 2017’s MILANO (a collaboration with Italian composer Daniele Luppi) may have been a precursor, where Parquet Courts worked a surprising amount of funk into their repertoire.

Title track ‘Wide Awake’ arrives after the lead single, ‘Almost Had to Start a Fight/In and Out of Patience’, both of which will be featured on this year’s Danger Mouse-produced effort. The song itself features more danceable, clean-cut rhythms, while the signature just-woke-up-and-shouting vocals from A. Savage fit somewhere between David Byrne and James Murphy. ‘Wide Awake’ still employs the usual sly lyricism as well as cutting guitar work from Austin Brown, but positions the band to ready listeners for something different. Parquet Courts might be dabbling with the unfamiliar, but the groove works well enough to keep the attention. ” – Andrew Goldberg

‘Gold Purple Orange‘ – Jean Grae & Quelle Chris

“‘Gold Purple Orange’ is the second single from Jean Grae & Quelle Chris’ upcoming album, Everything’s Fine. The song features a spacey, dark instrumental produced by Chris himself in his usual jazzy style and lyrics that I’ll let you try to make meaning of. The music video is pretty entertaining also; it’s a sort of wacked out karaoke tape with a lot of Tim and Eric vibes. Eric Andre and Hannibal Buress guest star in it too, so definitely check it out if you’re a fan. This will be Chris and Jean’s first collaborative album, but not the first time they’ve rapped together. Jean Grae previously appeared on “The Prestige” off of Quelle Chris’ album from last year, Being You Is Great, I Wish I Could Be You More Often. That album was fantastic, so I have high hopes for this new one. The two rappers were actually engaged back in December, so they’re like a rap White Stripes. The couple has a chemistry that extends beyond their verses and I’m very excited to see how it plays out across an entire album when Everything’s Fine drops March 30 on Mello Music Group..” – Spencer LaChance

‘Get the Fuck Off My Dick‘ – Vince Staples

“Vince Staples created a GoFundMe page to fund his retirement on Wednesday. Following criticisms of his stage presence and new music, he offered people two options. Fund his retirement and he’ll shut up forever, or get the fuck off his dick. Two days later, after his haters failed to raise 2 million dollars, he released an absolute banger called ‘Get the Fuck Off My Dick.’ It strays from his more experimental electronic production on his latest album with a simple trap beat, but he steals the spotlight with hard-hitting lyrics calling out everyone who wanted him to shut up. For someone who doesn’t know Vince, the track could sound like a rapper trying to show off and prove why he’s better than everyone else. But he’s not arrogant. He’s used his music to parody arrogant rappers with nothing to say and successfully continues the satire with GTFOMD, while also telling everyone that he’s proud of his art and won’t take heat from anyone. He raps about refusing to be a slave for a label and keeping it real with avant-garde music that he wants to make. It’s just a small taste of his genius as an artist and a reminder that he’s not going away any time soon. And if you want to criticize him, he’ll just fight back with a new song.” – Ingrid Angulo